How to Make Hot Butter Squid (Recipe for Batter Fried Squid and Cuttlefish)

HOT BUTTER CUTTLEFISH / SQUID RECIPE

This recipe for hot butter squid/cuttlefishis easy to follow and turns out mouth-watering. if you've tastedhot butter cuttlefish at Cafe Asiana in Dehiwela, Srilanka, this is just as awesome.

You can use squids or cuttlefish to make this dish. I will use the term squid through out this article, but don't fear to try it out using octopus and seahorse too.

One of my friends introduced me to hot butter cuttlefish. I searched the net for a good recipe but coudn't find one that was delicious like I had in the restaurant. So I combined many recipes and created one special recipe for squids, that tastes awesome.

So let's try HOT BUTTER SQUID/CUTTLEFISH. Ready ? GO!!

Ingredients for hot butter squid/cuttlefish:

500 g cuttlefish cut into rings or flowers

50 g corn flour

50 g all-purpose flour

1 egg

1/2 tsp baking powder

Salt and pepper to taste

15 g spring onion (Julienne)

[cut the leaves of spring onion into 2 inch strips and an onion bulb into 4]

15 g capsicum (Julienne)

3 tbsp. chili paste (or chilli flakes)

½ tsp of ajino-moto or seasoning

1 tsp of sugar

100 g butter or margarine

Oil to fry

A flowery trick

How to cut cuttlefish into flowers?

Clean the cuttlefish and cut its body into 2 inch rings. Then using a pair of scissors cut one edge into strands which will make it look like flowers, once you fry them.

This is the best shape to cut the squid or cuttlefish for this dish, if you find this difficult you can also cut the squid or cuttlefish into rings.

Method

BATTER

Add the cornflour, all-purpose flour, salt, ajino-moto,baking powder, egg and enough water to make a thick batter. You can blend these ingredients together to get a fine batter.

Make the batter thicker than usual by adding less water, because once you start dipping the cuttlefish or squid, the batter will turn watery.

After cutting the squid or cuttlefish, dry the squid well or swab them dry if needed.

Squid and cuttlefish have a lot of water in them. If you don't dry them well before frying then the oil pops out.

Season the squid with salt and pepper.

Let it marinate for 10 - 20 minutes.

Dip the squid or cuttlefish one by one in the batter (Instructions above). Don't dump the cuttlefish in the batter all at once. If you dip the squid one by one it will be crispy.

Heat oil until clear and carefully drop the dipped squid one by one in the oil.

Fry till cooked and light brown (like KFC)

Heat a pan. Add the butter or margarine when it is fully melted add the spring onion and the capsicum. (Don't over-cook the onion and capsicum as this recipe requires crispy onions and capsicum)

Stir it twice then add the sugar, ajino-moto, chili paste and in goes the squid.

Mix the curry a few times so all the ingredients are well combined. Turn off the fire

Let the hot butter squid rest for 2 more minutes. Resting will infuse the flavors into the squid.

Serve hot.

Squids and Cuttlefish

Squids and cuttlefish recipes can be made with either of the 2 and you needn’t worry about your guests finding out the difference. Squids and cuttlefish are so similar that it even has the same taste. Both belong to the same group of molluscs that have tentacles and arms, large eyes and ink to help them escape from predators. Squids spray black ink when it is disturbed. If you get fresh squids or cuttlefish, carefully remove the ink sac and add it when making tomato sauce, to get a lovely flavor. (I am yet to try this out)

Squid and cuttlefish are used to make various kinds of dishes. You can deep fry it (like above). Stuffed squid and cuttlefish is an all-time favorite and you can make spice boats by cutting the squid and cuttlefish lengthwise. All the parts of a squid and cuttlefish are consumable except the cuttlebone that can be fed for parrots or any other caged birds to give them Calcium.

Fewer people have fish in their diet as meat is easier to cook. But let this not be an excuse for us to stay away from a nutritious meal.

Squids

Squids are sometimes sold under the Chinese name Calamari.

Squids have excellent eyesight and can swim well. Squids are found in shoals unlike cuttlefish. Squids are bigger than cuttlefish, a squid is normally 25 inches long and the giant squids are a staggering size of 40 feet. Squid servings are rich in manganese, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12, Zinc and Copper.

Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish change colors to suit their mood. Cuttlefish has a lifespan of only 1 ½ years. The cuttlefish has 3 hearts and green blood made of copper; this is the reason it needs so much energy. Cuttlefish has 8 arms and 2 tentacles to catch prey. Cuttlefish range in size from 15 to 25 cm.

Cuttlefish eat small molluscs, crabs, shrimp, fish, octopuses, worms, and other cuttlefish. Their predators are dolphins, sharks, seals, seabirds and other cuttlefish.